BY VANESSA GONYE Aspiring young Zimbabwean female politicians continue to face sexual harassment among several impediments in their quest to enter the political arena. Zanu PF Seke-Chikomba women’s quota Member of Parliament, Tatenda Mavetera says due to the patriarchal nature of society, men tend to exploit women before granting them political favours. “A big challenge (for us female politicians) is sexual harassment from the gatekeepers (men). I have heard a lot of women talk about this, this is one of the biggest challenges where you get men wanting to sleep with you and they think that is how they can give you a favour, or that they can manage you. “Resources are also another challenge but we need women to occupy these positions so that we are not victimised,” she said. Mavetera, one of the few young women in the National Assembly, applauded President Emmerson Mnangagwa for allocating seats to young politicians, saying the move was a positive step in ensuring participation of young people in politics. She, however, said she hoped for a constitutional provision that allowed certain constituencies to be allocated to young women or young people to facilitate their participation in politics. “We need to demystify the myth that politics is a dirty game or that for women to occupy certain positions it’s because they slept with someone. “That is a very wrong myth and a very negative one which stops people from getting into politics. “It then stops even a husband from allowing his wife to get into politics as they think their marriage will break. “That is a very wrong perception which needs to change. I think we need more workshops, more women being encouraged, and more publicity when it comes to issues to do with women getting into politics.” “They need to know, and get motivation that they can actually get into politics through meritocracy, you can actually go there through merit and that is what I have done. “I never got to where I am because I slept with someone. I think as women, we need to take up these positions and not sit on the periphery and watch things happening. “We need to be involved in these things because the moment we start participating, that is when we can economically emancipate ourselves out of poverty as women. “As young women we can only be able to achieve this if we become focused. There is no change for us without us,” she said. Mavetera, however, said acceptance and resources also hinder political participation of young women. “We live in a highly patriarchal society and there are gatekeepers in politics that make sure you don’t penetrate. “One other challenge that we have faced is acceptance, people are now used to having MPs that are a bit more mature than my age. “For me, I have tried to occupy that space with dignity, integrity and also even making sure that people are able to respect you because of the way you carry yourself around being a female politician,” she said. Womendeliver.org, in a 2018 assessment, said “over the last two decades, the rate of women’s representation in national P
